With Big 12 play getting underway, the time for the conference to prove its strength compared to others is mostly over until the postseason. Now, the major national polls will — for better or worse — be heavily leaned on in forums of discussion to take stock of league power and rank resumés. So let’s take a look at where Big 12 teams stack up in the week 5 AP Poll and the USA Today Coaches Poll.
The same four Big 12 teams are ranked in both polls: Texas Tech, Iowa State, TCU and BYU. Texas Tech holds the highest of the group in the AP Poll at No. 12, a five-spot jump from last week, thanks to their 34-10 victory at then No. 16 Utah. The Utes, for their part, fell to what would be No. 29 in the receiving votes section. Meanwhile, in the Coaches Poll, the Red Raiders sit at No. 14. That leaves them up two spots from last week’s Coaches Poll and one spot behind Iowa State.
Yes, Iowa State stayed at No. 13 in the Coaches Poll after an idle week. In the AP Poll, Texas Tech was joined by Indiana in both winning big (63-10 over then No. 9 Illinois) and jumping above the Cyclones. That is how ISU fell two spots to No. 14 in the AP.
As for BYU and TCU, the two major polls have the newly ranked teams at No. 24 and No. 25 in a flip-flop. The Cougars hold the advantage in the Coaches Poll, while the Frogs finished higher in the AP Poll.
BYU’s move up the list was more understated than TCU’s, with the Mountain Time team moving up one spot in the AP and two spots in the Coaches Poll. Meanwhile, the Horned Frogs jump a whopping 14 spots up in the AP Poll and seven spots up in the Coaches Poll.
Now into the receiving votes section! Auburn came in at No. 26/31 (AP/Coaches) and Utah fell to No. 29/27 after their loss to Texas Tech. Arizona State sits at No. 30/26 after its last-second win in Waco. And then comes the random group of Big 12 teams that received a small number of points: No. 36 in the Coaches Poll, Kansas; No. 38 in the Coaches Poll, Houston; and No. 35 in the AP, UCF. Yes, you read that right, No. 35 in the AP Poll with three points, UCF.
Baylor, for its part, fell out of the receiving votes section of both polls after the tough loss to Arizona State on Saturday. It will likely take wins over Oklahoma State and Kansas State in the next two weeks to get back into that conversation, given the relative lack of quality from those two Big 12 foes.
